Florida Sports Wire

  JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville Icemen, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the AHL’s Rochester Americans are pleased to announce the removal of the interim tag to Sean Teakle and Garrett Cockerill.  Teakle officially becomes the fourth head coach in Icemen history, while Cockerill will officially return as assistant coach.   “We are very pleased to announce Sean Teakle as our new head coach,” said Zawyer Sports VP of Hockey Operations Joe Ernst. “Sean proved over the last half of this past season that he is the right person both on and off the ice to lead the Icemen. The passion, enthusiasm, teaching and communication that Sean brings to the rink every day is second to none. We cannot think of a more deserving and prepared individual to lead the Jacksonville Icemen Hockey Team while having the confidence that he will put a competitive team on the ice each night that will continue to make Jacksonville proud.”  Teakle was initially elevated from ass...

  ORLANDO – Cole Moberg’s power-play goal with 1:48 left in the third period snapped a 1-1 tie as the Florida Everblades defeated the Orlando Solar Bears 3-1 in Game Five of the South Division Finals Saturday night at Kia Center.  Saturday’s victory wrapped up the best-of-seven series for Florida by a four-games-to-one margin and sealed a 14th consecutive postseason series win as the South Division Champion Blades have cleared another hurdle en route to a possible fourth consecutive Kelly Cup title. Orlando scored the only goal of the first period as Anthony Bardaro put the Solar Bears ahead 1-0 at 7:51 of the opening frame. That early tally proved to be the only goal of the contest for the home team, as the Everblades limited the Solar Bears to just 11 shots on goal over the rest of the match. Colton Hargrove knotted the game 3:25 into the second frame, tipping home his fifth goal of the playoffs with Moberg and Logan Lambdin picking up the assists. While the Everblades were...

Andrew Fyten followed Alex Kile’s example with an overtime winner of his own to give the Florida Everblades a 2-1 overtime win over the Jacksonville Icemen in Game Two of the South Division Semifinals in front of 6,084 fans.  The South Carolina Stingrays earned a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against the Orlando Solar Bears in front of 5,744 fans to take a 2-0 series lead Florida now leads the best-of-seven series 2-0 with the series shifting to Jacksonville next week. The first period saw Florida generate more chances, but both teams came up scoreless in the opening frame. Craig Needham and Justin McRae fought each other for both to pick up their first playoff fighting major in their careers. In the second, Carson Gicewicz scored a five-hole goal eight seconds in to a power play to open the scoring. Oliver Chau and Cole Moberg gabbed helpers on the opening goal. In the third, Derek Lodermeier tied the game with a shorthanded goal after the Blades turned it over in their own zone....

 SHREWSBURY, N.J. – South Carolina Stingrays’ defenseman Romain Rodzinski is the AMI Graphics ECHL Plus Performer of the Month for March after leading the league with a plus-minus rating of +24 during the month. Rodzinski posted an even or better rating in 13 of his 14 games in March. He was a +4 on March 3 at Orlando and March 14 at Atlanta, a +3 on March 23 against Jacksonville and a +2 in five games. A native of Blainville, Quebec, Rodzinski is a +26 overall on the season while posting 22 points (8g-14a) in 42 games with South Carolina and Idaho. Rodzinski has totaled 35 points (11g-24a) in 82 career ECHL games with the Stingrays and Steelheads. Prior to turning pro, Rodzinski tallied four assists in five games at Concordia University and 41 points (8g-33a) in 178 in with Quebec, Cape Breton and Chicoutimi of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. In recognition of his accomplishment, AMI Graphics will present Romain Rodzinski with a personalized Plus Performer of the Month ...

SHREWSBURY, N.J. – The ECHL on Wednesday announced the Eastern Conference and Western Conference selections for the 2024-25 Midseason All-Star Team.   As a part of the All-Star selection,  DASH  - the Official Mobile Auction Platform of the ECHL - will auction off each player’s jersey. The auction is now live and will run through Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. ET. Visit the links below to place your bids.   ECHL Eastern Conference All-Star Jersey Auction   ECHL Western Conference All-Star Jersey Auction   The roster for the ECHL All-Stars was determined in a vote of coaches, team captains, media relations directors and broadcasters. The coaches were determined by the team with the highest points percentage in each conference through games of Jan. 5, 2025.   Eastern Conference All-Stars Western Conference All-Stars Goaltenders Goaltenders Cam Johnson, Florida Everblades Mark Sinclair, Bloomington Bison Sergei Murashov, Wheeling Nailers   ...

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Stingrays ended the week on a high note, defeating the Jacksonville Icemen 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in front of 5,000+ fans at the North Charleston Coliseum.  Erik Middendorf and Kyler Kupka scored for the Stingrays, while South Carolina goaltenders Seth Eisele and Garin Bjorklund combined to stop 23 of 24 shots. While the first period saw no goals, it saw plenty of action. The Stingrays outshot the Icemen 11-9, but both goaltenders were up to the task early.  The Stingrays struck first at 9:21 into the middle frame. Middendorf brought the puck into the zone and slid it across to Austin Magera. Magera wired a shot on net that Jacksonville netminder Michael Houser stopped, but Middendorf was there for the rebound to give South Carolina a 1-0 lead. Magera and Weiss got the assists. Eisele held down the fort with another seven second period saves, including an incredible stop against Jacksonville’s Zach Jordan. South Carolina doubled their lead 5 minut...

ESTERO – When two of the hottest teams in the ECHL collide, something has to give. And Friday night at Hertz Arena, it gave in a big, big way for the red-hot Florida Everblades, a 6-2 winner over the Jacksonville Icemen. Four was the number of a magical night, as the Everblades not only scored four unanswered goals to seal the team’s fourth straight win but snapped South Division rival Jacksonville’s four-game winning streak in the process. And a fourth straight sellout crowd of 7,224 fans cheered the Blades to victory. Despite entering play ranked last in the ECHL on the power play, Jacksonville bucked the trend and struck first as Christopher Brown scored just 17 seconds into the first power-play opportunity enjoyed by either team. Brown’s ninth goal of the season gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 12:59 of the first period. Jacksonville’s lead would be short-lived as Gary Haden connected for the Everblades with his second goal of the season at the 18:59 mark. Haden deflected in a shot ...

 SHREWSBURY, N.J. – Jack Beck of the Wheeling Nailers is the Inglasco ECHL Player of the Week for Dec. 23-29. Beck scored two goals and added five assists for seven points in three games last week. The 21-year-old had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win at Cincinnati on Friday, dished out three assists in a 6-2 victory over Iowa on Saturday and had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 triumph against the Heartlanders on Sunday. Under contract to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, Beck ranks second among ECHL rookies with 21 assists and is fourth among first-year players with 26 points in 27 games with the Nailers this season. Prior to turning pro, Beck tallied 201 points (68g-133a) in 204 career collegiate games in the Ontario Hockey League with Ottawa and Soo. On behalf of Jack Beck, a case of pucks will be donated to a Wheeling youth hockey organization by Inglasco, the exclusive puck supplier of the ECHL. Since beginning its sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, Inglasc...

 By MIKE BONTS, Jax Sports News JACKSONVILLE - Oliver Chau scored twice to lead Florida (15-3-1) to a 3-2 ECHL victory over Jacksonville (10-6-2) at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena Thursday night. It was the first of three straight meetings between the Everblades and Icemen. The in-state rivals played a scoreless first period. After 20 minutes, the contest saw its first intermission with the Icemen outshooting the Blades 11-9. Chau’s unassisted tally gave Florida a 1-0 lead just 32 seconds into the second stanza. Davis Koch’s fifth lamplighter of the season off a rebound save by Cam Johnson evened the game for Jacksonville with assists from Brendan Harris and Carter Allen. Jesse Lansdell put the Everblades back in front, assisted by Kyle Betts and Jordan Sambrook. Jacksonville captain Christopher Brown knotted the score again on another rebound, assisted by Harris and Koch. The Icemen entered the game third on the penalty kill at home at 91.4 percent, but Florida found the back of ...

 SHREWSBURY, N.J. – Ethan Haider of the Atlanta Gladiators is the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for Nov. 18-24. Haider went 2-0-0 with one shutout, a 0.99 goals-against average and a save percentage of .968 in two appearances last week. The 23-year-old stopped all 33 shots he faced in a 4-0 win at Orlando on Tuesday and made 28 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory against Jacksonville on Friday. Under contract to Milwaukee of the American Hockey League, Haider is 4-4-0 in eight appearances with the Gladiators this season. He is tied for second in the ECHL with two shutouts, ranks 10th with a 2.27 goals-against average and tied for 13th with a .919 save percentage. Prior to turning pro, Haider saw action in 101 career collegiate games at the University of Connecticut and Clarkson University compiling an overall record of 43-42-14 with eight shutouts, a 2.47 goals-against average and a save percentage of .909.  

  By Mike Bonts STATELINE, NV – The Jacksonville Icemen spoiled the first ECHL game at the Tahoe Blue Event Center for the Tahoe Knight Monsters with a 4-3 overtime victory Thursday night. Brendan Harris scored his second goal of the night in the overtime session. Zach Jordan got the assist. The Icemen found themselves in overtime for the second straight game. Goaltender Matt Vernon picked up the win with 36 saves. Jesper Vikman took the loss while stopping 20 shots. The Knight Monsters recorded their first power play goal in the final two and a half minutes of the third to tie the game 3-3. With Garrett Van Wyhe in the box for hooking, Simon Pinard knotted the score, sending the game into overtime. Before Pinard’s goal Tahoe was 0 for 6 with a man advantage. Brennan Kapcheck and Sloan Stanick were credited with assists. Four minutes earlier, Kapcheck’s goal at 13:41 set up by Jett Jones and Chris Dodero made it 3-2. Jacksonville took a two-goal advantage into the f...

 Thursday, Oct. 24 ECHL GameDay (Florida Sports Wire) Jacksonville Icemen (0-0-1) at Tahoe Knight Monsters (0-0-0)   7 p.m. PT Jacksonville’s Logan Cockerill is tied for second with a 66.7 percent shooting percentage (2-for-3). Tahoe’s Alex Loh is 102-106-29 in three-plus seasons as head coach with Adirondack and Savannah. Icemen went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill on Saturday against Florida. First game in Knight Monsters team history. Allen Americans (0-0-0) at Tulsa Oilers (2-0-0)                             10:35 a.m. CT Allen’s B.J. Adams makes his professional head-coaching debut. Tulsa’s Tyler Poulson is tied for the league lead with three goals. Americans have qualified for the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. Oilers have outscored their opponents 5-0 in the second period. Bloomington Bison (0-2-0) at Iowa Heartlanders (0-1-...